PERHAPS the best measure of how Scotland have progressed of late is their reaction to the first two rounds of the Six Nations Championship. There have been some seasons when they have been relieved, if not outright happy, to have won one of their five games in the competition. Now, they are dissatisfied after having won their first match well and only been beaten in their second by six points.

There is always a place for self-criticism, of course, and there are obviously parts of Scotland’s game where there is room for improvement. But at times in recent years the squad has been self-critical merely out of frustration rather than a real belief that they can get better. This time, they are reproaching themselves in the knowledge that they definitely can keep on getting better.

“I really enjoyed both games,” tighthead prop Zander Fagerson said yesterday after being asked to reflect on the opening 27-22 home win over Ireland and the subsequent 22-16 defeat at the Stade de France. “I learned a lot. As long as you learn from your mistakes and get better, that’s the main thing.”

It would be one-sided to suggest that Scotland lost in Paris as a result of their mistakes, because France obviously deserve some credit for their victory. In fact, arguably the major factor in the outcome was the injury count suffered by the visitors, who lost Greig Laidlaw and John Barclay before half-time, and substitute John Hardie just after it. At the same time, France showed greater stamina than Scotland had hoped, or at least they were able to use their bench in a more planned manner because they had fewer early injuries.

Nonetheless, speaking before it was announced that Laidlaw will miss the remaining games of the tournament because of his ankle injury, Fagerson still clearly felt the frustration of the things that went wrong on Sunday, and seemed convinced, as team-mates had been immediately after the game, that this was one that got away.

“It wasn’t ideal,” he said. “It was a tough game, but we came through it and have to regroup and look forward to Wales now.

“Certain opponents do different things at certain times, and sometimes you get it right and other times we haven’t, so it’s about consistency. And keeping on learning.

“The French were a big team, but I didn’t think that power thing played a lot into it [the defeat]. It was more about processing stuff and getting height, getting your bind and the right shoulder in and consistency in set-up.

“I’d say it was technique and a bit of everything else. We did some good things, some bad things. After Ireland we came in and reassessed and saw what France were going to offer, and sometimes we gave them some of those things on a plate.

“I think they got tired, but they had good replacements and for some reason we didn’t click at times. The game-plan did at times and not at others, and we let them in and come at us.

“When we kept hold of the ball we had a good attack and that showed us what we can do when we keep the ball. It was a tough game, though.

“We have to regroup. We’ve had a good review already and see what we did wrong and then look forward to Wales.”

Scotland’s scrum has been under pressure in both games - more so against Ireland, when loosehead prop Allan Dell was penalised in the first two set-pieces and Fagerson at the third, but there were also difficulties against the French. With Alasdair Dickinson and Willem Nel out injured, the inexperience in the front row was always going to be an issue, but Fagerson is convinced that he and his team-mates are heading in the right direction.

“Yes, there’s a lot we can do,” he said when asked if he thought the scrum could be improved. “We have a good scrum: we just need to get the processes right. So I’m not worried about it at all.

“Against France, in the first scrum of the game we had them under pressure, but . . . . some of [what they did] was legal, some illegal, but they got the ref on their side and some things didn’t go our way. Wales do the same things as France and Ireland did and so we need to fight fire with fire. It will be a good challenge and I’m looking forward to it.”

Having played the full 80 minutes against France and most of the match against Ireland, Fagerson is due a well-earned break from Glasgow duty this weekend before returning to action against the Welsh a week on Saturday. While he is one of the hardest-working members of the squad, he is firmly opposed to the suggestion from some English clubs that the Six Nations should be played straight through with matches every week.

“I think that’s completely implausible,” he said. “I feel sorry for the guys who might have to play for their clubs this weekend. We get looked after pretty well [in Scotland], so unless it’s a necessity I don’t think a lot of the boys will be playing.

“Having been in the junior World Cup, where you play five games over four weeks, it is pretty brutal, and that’s at under-20 level. Internationally it would be ridiculous. I don’t think that could ever happen.”